


the wolf fell in love with little red riding hood

by Molnija



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: ???????? maybe? it ended up really introspective, Canon Compliant, Character Study, I'm not even sure what this is tbh, M/M, Monologue, Pre-Relationship, Songfic, a shitton of it, but it turned ambiguous cuz that's what my canon compliant oikage seems to do, i mean. it is a birthday gift. happy birth, this was supposed to be romantic i swear, well kinda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-23
Updated: 2017-02-23
Packaged: 2018-09-26 13:19:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 2,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9898913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Molnija/pseuds/Molnija
Summary: an inevitable scene occured through pure coincidence.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [eleasofia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/eleasofia/gifts).



> sURPRISE BIRTHDAY GIFT!!! [dundunduuuuuun]  
> Happy Birthday to the Oikage Queen °^°)/ may your new year of life be filled with all kinds of good stuff, you deserve it. ~
> 
> a bit of info for the fic, it was actually supposed to be a oneshot but it just looked so much better in chapters so they're really, really short. also it's all based on this song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mzib_MiYvNg because I was Inspired™ and it's a very Oikage song. or maybe not. maybe I'm just seeing things. hearing things?
> 
> (I powered through this in a day forgive me if there are any mistakes my brain feels like pudding ... well I did have a first draft but I ended up hating it so I started all over again ... I don't want to gift you garbage. I actually meant to sing the song as well just as a bonus but time is not a thing I have
> 
> also all the quotes that are actually in canon are from my own memory so the wording is most definitely not the same)
> 
> everyone who can get what the reference in Tooru's nickname by his sister is gets a cookie. it's really specific and very hidden even in its own canon, but who knows, maybe some of you can figure it out.

_an inevitable scene occurred through pure coincidence_

 

“My name is Kageyama Tobio, from Akiyama Junior High! I’ve been playing volleyball since my second year in elementary school. I’m looking forward to playing with you!”

There are some people who feel like the universe has designed them specifically to rub salt in your already painful wounds. Kageyama Tobio is one of those people.

Had he come in any other period of Tooru’s life, they might have gotten along. Maybe they wouldn’t have been friends then, either, but he could have actually stepped up and been a good senpai. But there’s only so much he can do when Tobio is just that one last drop in the near overflowing barrel of frustration that has been filling up inside him bit by bit.

Losing to Ushijima is one thing. A genius following his every step is another. The constant feelings of _not good enough_ and _have to train harder_ are the logical conclusion to both of these things.

He’s fine though. He’s fine when they lose in the tournament, he’s fine when he practices until he sprains his wrist, he’s fine when he gets switched out for Tobio. He’s _fine_.

Until he suddenly drowns in all the reasons why he’s not.

“Can you teach me how to serve?”

In hindsight, he overreacted, but at that moment all he can think is _don’t take the one thing from me that I have over you_.

It’s only when Iwaizumi quite literally punches him out of it that it gets better. He’s not really _happy_ , sure, but it’s getting easier, if only a little bit. He’s not alone – not on the court and not off it.

By the end of the year, with the Best Setter Award in his hands, Tooru sees Tobio as nothing more than a particularly annoying rival.

 

_deep in the mysterious forest, I met a black shadow._


	2. Chapter 2

_our “encounter” is a scenario that leads to the end_

 

Tobio already knows he won’t go to Aoba Johsai. His old teammates will go there, and it’s already difficult enough to be in the same class as Kindaichi. Honestly, despite his frustrations and guilt burning deep underneath his skin, he’s kind of relieved the third years have graduated from club after the tournament, and he won’t put himself through three more years of people that don’t want him there.

Aoba Johsai is a great school. A powerhouse that rivals Shiratorizawa, just like Kitagawa Daiichi does. But it’s not the place for him to be.

It’s not just his fellow third years. Many students from Kitagawa Daiichi have gone on to Aoba Johsai, as per usual. Among them is also Oikawa, who he has sworn to surpass, which is another reason why he cannot go. He doesn’t know all the details, but they certainly were never on friendly terms, no matter how much he admires his senpai for his skills on the court.

It won’t do him any good to go to Aoba Johsai, so he doesn’t. Shiratorizawa has already rejected him for failing the entrance exam, but Karasuno will be decent as well when Coach Ukai comes back. In the end, they’re all just high school students though, and as long as he plays at his best, they will not fail.

So the recruitment letter ends up in his paper bin, unread.

 

_so we deliberately took a roundabout way._


	3. Chapter 3

_surely, you’ll walk this road again today as always_

 

Junior High is not a time Tooru likes to look back at, for several reasons, but Junior High is in the past, and at Aoba Johsai, he’s the happiest he’s ever been.

Granted, he doesn’t have to worry about a certain kouhai of his in the first two years, but by the time the third one rolls around, he feels confident enough to say he can beat him anyway.

That is, until he watches the second set of their practice match.

While the short redhead is going to be a problem, he’s not the one catching his eye. He did see Tobio’s last Junior High match, but he’s playing differently now, even if he still seems to retain parts of the tyrant king attitude that made him infamous. His sets are graceful and on-the-mark as always, the qualities of a genius shining through, and now he’s at least trying to communicate with his teammates one way or another.

Somehow, it’s a bit like getting blown back a few years, and familiar, unwelcome thoughts are creeping up again.

He makes an example out of only joining at Karasuno’s match point and stealing as many points away from them as he can. It makes the eventual loss a little more bearable, but he feels strangely defeated nonetheless. Still, it’s obvious they’re still miles above them. If they give it their all as always, they won’t lose.

He has more important things to worry about than his annoyingly adorable kouhai.

 

_and so I pass by and pretend not to notice._


	4. Chapter 4

_you don’t catch my gaze and my voice doesn’t reach you_

 

Playing against Aoba Johsai is strange to say the least.

It’s only a practice match and Oikawa isn’t even playing for most of it, which speaks volumes about how serious they are, but despite his best efforts to remain calm, Tobio can feel the pressure rising. It helps a bit to see Hinata spectacularly fail at everything he does in the first set, but once they’ve settled into a rhythm, things become a little more tense.

He’s not happy with how they’re playing. If this had been an official match, they would have lost. One look at Oikawa’s serves is enough to assure him of that.

How is he supposed to ever become that good? This team has potential, sure, but it doesn’t feel like they’re using even a fraction of it. It’s his job as a setter to draw that out, but he doesn’t know how. The only reason they won that practice match in the first place was their freak quick, which will only be a surprise for so long.

The only thing he knows is that in order to win, he has to become better than Oikawa, which seems like a far-off dream.

 

_however, our sighs match, yet still in vain._


	5. Chapter 5

_but I’m thinking about it, how much I’m thinking about it_

 

It’s simple, really.

_You’re a genius, Tobio. If you continue to grow at this speed, I might even lose to you. But that won’t be today._

So he finds himself in the finals once again, versus Shiratorizawa once again, losing once again. At this point, it’s painfully ironic – he managed to defeat one of his biggest rivals, only to fall to the other, _again_.

There’s an awful lot of ‘again’s in his life, and sometimes it feels like it will remain like that forever.

Of course, he can’t ever say that out loud or Iwaizumi would scold him for it, and rightfully so. He can be a bit melodramatic at times, Tooru figures, and it’s good to have a best friend that’s grounded like him.

So he puts on a smile his friend can clearly see through and says, “We’ll win in the Spring Tournament for sure!”

His team believes him, and it makes himself believe a little bit, too.

 

_the ending will never change._


	6. Chapter 6

_I want to talk to you, but it’s impossible_

 

“If you can’t understand that, you’re just regressing back to being the tyrant king.”

These words sting, more than he’d like to admit. Maybe it’s because they’re said by the one person he admires more than anyone, and because he finds himself wanting his approval a little too much. Losing to him only showed how big the gap between them really is – he should probably hate him for it, but instead he just wants to _learn_.

It’s clear Oikawa would never let him, though, so Tobio just stands there as he walks away. If nothing else, he’ll try to take his advice to heart. It’s clear he can’t beat him if he doesn’t, and if he can’t beat him they can’t go to nationals.

If he had time to wonder how things would have played out had he gone to Aoba Johsai instead, he would have, but for now he needs to practice. He doesn’t ever want to hear those words again.

 

_so our “meeting” signals the end._


	7. Chapter 7

_however much I struggle, however much I pray_

 

He doesn’t hate him, not really.

He does come dangerously close when the ball drops with a devastating _bump_ , and he makes it quite clear he’d like to, and some people might believe that he does but he’s pretty sure the ones closest to him are seeing through him, as always.

Of course he’s proud when Karasuno wins the finals, damn it. It hurts at the same time, and he can’t bear to think about what will happen soon – he doesn’t want to leave his team, he wants to play with them forever, they _deserve_ it – but their so-called new archenemies have only come this far thanks to Tobio, and Tobio has only come this far thanks to Tooru.

It feels weird, somewhat akin to a rope around his heart that can’t decide whether it wants to keep it in place or pull until it stops beating. To say he’s conflicted would be an understatement.

Then again, he doesn’t really have a choice in what he can and cannot display. All of them have a role to fill, and his is to be yet another resented benchmark in Tobio’s life. That doesn’t mean he has to be okay with it.

(He does wonder why it feels like he could be, sometimes.)

Maybe things could have been different. If he’d taken another path entirely. If Tobio had come to Aoba Johsai, if Tooru had, god forbid, gone to Shiratorizawa, if one of them had stopped playing, though the latter is not even wishful thinking.

As much as he wants to go further, if the alternative is not having Tobio around at all, it doesn’t sound all that appealing either.

(But he will never, _ever_ , say that out loud.)  

 

_my claws and fangs won’t disappear._


	8. Chapter 8

_deep in the mysterious forest, I met a black shadow_

 

It’s at nationals of all places that he sees him again, or rather literally bumps into him.

“Tobio,” he says, without the “-chan” or anything like that, and it’s clear he really wasn’t planning on meeting him, from the wide-open eyes behind the glasses and the confused tone of voice. Tobio has never been good at reading people, but he is able to tell when someone has no idea what is going on, as he’s very used to that feeling. “What are you doing here?”

“Playing volleyball.” Not right now, right now he’s on his way to the vending machines to buy milk, but it’s still kind of true.

“Who would have guessed,” Oikawa says, dry as a desert.

Tobio doesn’t know what to do in this sort of situation. He’d ask ‘what about you’ but he probably wouldn’t get an answer anyway, so he does the first thing that comes to his mind and leaves, pacing past him with quick steps.

Before he’s entirely out of sight, he hears a, “You better win out there, got it? If you don’t, you’ll make me look bad.”

Of course he’d make it about himself, terrible personality that he has – Tobio still insists it’s worse than Tsukishima’s, even though that guy comes close – but it’s a bit uplifting, too.

Some part of him wants to believe Oikawa is here for him. Or, well, them. They’re the team representing Miyagi after all. And he’s his kouhai and rival, after all.

 

_with a premonition of what would happen next, I fled in fear._


	9. Chapter 9

_I cannot talk to you, but that’s alright_

 

He didn’t _plan_ to buy those tickets. Actually, he didn’t even buy them, his sister just slapped them onto his desk with a knowing smile, and he can’t really reject tickets to nationals, especially not when said sister also really wanted to go. Something about her friend coaching the female team of Kyoto, but since it was the first time Tooru ever heard about it, she was probably lying.

And now Tobio has just passed by him and he should really write a guide on how to not interact with former underclassmen. _A Failure of a Senpai_ , by and with Oikawa Tooru. Sure, why not.

It would have been much easier to just tell him he wants to see him lose, but he’s not in the mood to lie. At least he can show some local patriotism and cheer for the Miyagi team while he’s at it, it doesn’t have to be about Tobio, why would it be about Tobio anyway (just like everything else in his recent volleyball career)?

Maybe someday he’ll be brave enough to actually tell him what he really feels. Something like “congratulations, I’m kind of a little bit vaguely proud of you”. Or perhaps a “sorry” would be nice. That’s most likely wishful thinking, though.

“Was that Tobio-kun right there?” his sister asks and he didn’t even notice she’s joined him. “He’s cute. Looks a little pissed off, though.”

“That’s how he always looks,” Tooru says with a shrug. Tobio used to be so small and innocent with an actual smile on his face, what happened?

(Him, probably.)

“Did you tell him good luck?”

“Sure,” he lies and receives a soft punch in the shoulder.

“You’re terrible, Toorurun.”

Yeah, he probably is, but that’s kind of his selling point. Aside from dashing good looks and determination, of course …

He really does want to see Tobio win, though.

 

_as long as we’re both here._


	10. Chapter 10

_from far, far away, I saw a little red flee_

 

Oikawa never comes to congratulate him when they win the semifinals and never shows up to make fun of him or anything of the likes when they lose in the finals.

He thinks he sees him at some of their matches during his high school career, but he seems to be spectacular at hiding when he’s really looking for him.

Even when they win at nationals in his last tournament, Tobio receives no word from him.

He sees him, though, in the newspaper and on online articles. The ace setter of Tokyo, the brightest star in college volleyball. Even now, he’s still a dream that’s virtually begging to be chased.

He never asked to go to the same university as Oikawa, but he was scouted, and after reconciling with Kindaichi and Kunimi, he’s not as afraid as he used to be. In fact, Kunimi’s even coming with him, as he too made it in.

When they first arrive in the gym he sees Oikawa talk to another third year before his former – and now current – senpai notices him.

“Why, if it isn’t Tobio-chan. So the rumours were true, after all.”

But when they line up to introduce himself, he can swear to see a smile on his face when Tobio steps forward.

It’s not going to be easy, that much is clear. Maybe he’s stupid to even consider the thought, but … It feels like things can change. Will change. Have already changed, maybe, though it’s hard to tell.

“My name is Kageyama Tobio, from Karasuno High School! I’ve been playing volleyball since my second year in elementary school. I’m looking forward to playing with you!”

 

_an inevitable scene occurred through pure coincidence._

**Author's Note:**

> I HOPE YOU LIKED IT AAAAAAAAH
> 
> scream with me on akaashi-tooru.tumblr.com/ ~


End file.
